Open Water
YouTubeTom and Eileen Lonergan.
The scary movie Open Water struck fear in audiences around the world when it was released in 2003. The couple at the center of the story were the victims of a simple, and deadly, mistake. This idea that “it could happen to anyone” is what made theater-goers so afraid – and the fact that it is based on a real story compounds the terror.
On January 25, 1998, married couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan left Port Douglas, Australia with a diving group and never returned to shore. The couple was in the Peace Corps and decided to stop in Australia on their way back to the United States from Fiji for the chance to dive the Great Barrier Reef.
On that day in late January, the group was off to dive St. Crispin’s reef. The boat’s skipper led the group of 26 passengers 25 miles off the coast of Queensland to get to the iconic diving spot. The group put their gear on and leaped into the water.
Unfortunately, only 24 people made it back to shore. The last anyone saw of the Lonergans was when they jumped into the water, but what happened in the water can only be speculated.
YoutubeTom and Eileen Lonergan at a ceremony.
Most likely, the Lonergans broke the surface after their scuba diving session to a terrifying sight: clear blue sky as far as the eye can see but no boat in sight. Only after squinting and searching every inch of the horizon did they believe the bleak reality that they were abandoned in the middle of the ocean.
It was two full days before anyone realized that the Lonergans were missing. The boat’s skipper found their unclaimed belongings still on the boat and after his discovery, a massive search began.
Some of their diving gear was found washed up on shore as well as a note from the couple written on a diving slate which said:
“To anyone who can help us: We have been abandoned on Agin court reef Reef 25 Jan 1998 03 pm. Please help us come rescue us before we die. Help!!!”
The Lonergan’s bodies were never found and many people speculate that they most likely died from dehydration, drowning, or shark attack.
